Forward the Foundation by Issac Asimov

Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It’s certainly a tale of democracy. As with Asimov’s other tales in the saga, most of the action takes place through dialogue rather than narration and every character seems to have the right to exercise their say as they individually turn detective to counter-question their fellow characters in order to achieve their goal. But there’s few moments of humour in this story. Sometimes I feel as if it’s a tale of how Hari got his groove back as he deals with depressive moments of old age and battles politicians with conspiracies and infiltration, all while battling self-doubt and paranoid mutinies. But the idea of an army of gardeners penetrating the heart of government is certainly a novel one. At times it’s interesting to see how the stage is set for scenarios that take place later in the saga. There are still some unanswered questions and I was hoping to learn of some of Seldon’s soothsaying abilities which never transpired and it’s more than likely that these are now simply a product of the Second Foundation. But it’s really a sad tale of demise as the protagonist observes everything deteriorating around him, and it’s more a novel of self-interest rather than offering any real insight or technological progress.

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